Raelindra
Appearance Raelindra is a tall, strong and athletic young woman, who looks as though she could swing a large two-hander with ease. She proudly wears the insignia of Honor Hold and the Shattered Sun, as well as a surprising number of decorations for her young age; however, nearly all of them are of Outland or Quel'danas origin. She bears herself with all the gravitas expected of a Paladin, yet the feathers twined in her unruly blonde hair and the mischievous gleam in her blue-grey eyes suggest a somewhat wilder streak beneath all the careful civility. Personality 'Run silent, run deep' seems to be the best descriptor for Raelindra's personality. It's not that she is unsociable; she just has difficulties dealing with people in anything other than a wartime situation or the occasional casual drink at a tavern. Although she is certainly courteous enough it takes her a while to truly warm to people, although a couple of rounds of ale certainly help matters along. Even the concept of peace is alien to her, as she has grown up surrounded by war on all sides for twenty-plus years and knows nothing else. As someone who has grown up extremely fast she unthinkingly shoulders responsibilities that most others her age would balk at. However, in spite of the fact that she has much more experience of war than most of her age mates planetside, she usually has the good sense to know when to bow to the wisdom of those who have been fighting longer than she has-- and, in the case of her fellow Honor Hold defenders, that is almost everyone. However, all is not quite as it seems with her; she is a good deal less straitlaced and military than she appears at first blush. She has a wicked sense of humor and a mischievous streak to match, and her personal preferences could be politely described as liberal. However, she will not budge on the subject of warlocks and will only tolerate them if circumstances absolutely require it. Background Raelindra was born in Honor Hold to scribe Mireska Hopewell, who was unknowingly pregnant at the time of the Dark Portal's opening, and Kul Tirasi cartographer Reynar Hopewell, both members of the Expeditionary Force under Turalyon's command. Although she is far too young to actually remember it she bears the imprint of Draenor's destruction deep within her psyche, where it has probably marked her in ways yet to be made manifest. She grew up completely and utterly cut off from Azeroth at large and constantly surrounded by war on all sides; as such, she matured extremely quickly, especially when both Reynar and Mireska disappeared at roughly the same time as Alleria and Turalyon. (Although Reynar was later confirmed dead, Mireska's disappearance remains a mystery: although she, too, is presumed dead, nothing of her was ever recovered.) Even as a small child she proved to be very strong of stomach, and was helping out the field medics with their preparations as soon as they would allow her. At first these were only small things, such as helping to put together needed supplies for those going out to the field or keeping the wounded company as they recovered, but she proved to be a quick study and soon began to learn first aid proper. When Raelindra wasn't helping out the medics she spent a good deal of time with the Wildhammer Dwarves of the Hold, many of whom had been Mireska's friends; Rae was fascinated by their gryphons and always eager to learn more. She learned of medicine from a slightly different perspective, as gryphons could be casualties of war as well, and as much as the Dwarves were willing to teach a human orphan of flying at such a young age. However, in spite of these things it was the Paladins who most captured her attention, and she knew exactly what she wanted very early on: to become one of them. As a very physically strong child, and a focused and faithful one at that, Rae seemed an ideal candidate, and the Paladins seemed only too glad to oblige her. She quickly learned what they had to teach her, and in a few years' time she went on to study with the Aldor of Shattrath City as the Draenei had knowledge of the Light that humanity lacked. Rae quickly proved herself equal to the task, impressing her Draenei teachers with her insatiable curiosity and drive to learn as well as her quick response to discipline. Although she could never quite hope to equal their breadth of knowledge given her short human lifespan she nevertheless proved her worth quickly and found herself out in the field at an age during which her Azeroth-bound counterparts would still be mere squires, or at least kept well back from the battlefield. It never did occur to Rae to question these things, however, and it wasn't until people came through the re-opened Dark Portal that it even occurred to her to think of such things as other than 'normal'. That event, of course, drew an awkward combination of ire and thankfulness from her. On the one hand, Rae agreed with the Magus Filinthus in that it was absolute stupidity to undo the work wrought by Alleria, Turalyon and their followers in closing the thing in the first place, but on the other hand there was no telling how much longer Honor Hold and its allies would have lasted without outside support. Rae eventually found her way onto Azeroth, having been much too busy with Hellfire Peninsula aerial patrols and other such things until months after the fact, when orders from the Aldor took her to Quel'Danas where she was of great help to the Shattered Sun Offensive, earning their highest accolades. In large part thanks to this involvement she heard about the Azure Order-- also very active with the Offensive-- and, finding their ideals to be quite in line with her own, she joined them. Unfortunately, the adjustment proved a bit more difficult than she thought, as the boundary between military and civilian seemed, to her, ill defined at best. She blundered her way through her first few months with the Order until news of an impending expedition to Northrend came and on the heels of that a Scourge invasion of Stormwind, giving her much needed focus. Where before she had been somewhat clueless on the subject of the Scourge she learned all about it very quickly with this firsthand exposure, and was thus primed for Northrend when go time came. With this, however, came the unexpected: a rash of Death Knights, broken free of the Lich King, descended upon Stormwind with pleas to be allowed to serve the Alliance once more. Rae was justifiably suspicious and sometimes outright hostile until a chance encounter with one named Aerngrim Skaelbjorn, who mistook her for her mother; her initial suspicions gave way to curiosity and resulted in a lengthy conversation during which Rae found out that Mireska had, in fact, come from Northrend and had never told anybody about her origin. Quite a few surprising details about other things came up as well, and Rae decided that, while Death Knights were far from trustworthy, some of them, at least, might be worth reaching out to. Unlike Warlocks, who could choose to renounce the Fel, a Death Knight had no choice in what they were. She met other Death Knights who also expressed a desire for atonement, and when the time came for the Order to discuss them, Rae advocated allowing them-- albeit with a very strict evaluation process. She rather expected to be shot down in flames, but surprisingly enough, others agreed, and this was the stance the Order took. The next time she met Aerngrim she informed him of such; with the common link of Mireska in their respective histories they have struck up an odd sort of friendship and have decided to help each other find their mutual roots in Northrend. Aside from that, Rae also has the matter of a missing guildmate on her mind, as Jeoffrey Irinbar's ship has wrecked and rumors indicate he may have washed up in Northrend, giving her yet more impetus to go. Any way one slices it, Raelindra has a great deal ahead of her. Goals and Motivations Ensure the survival of those she grew up with in Honor Hold. Find out what exactly happened to her parents-- especially her mother, who was never actually accounted for. Find her mother's people in Northrend. Sticking it to the Lich King, of course, is a plus. Relationships Raelindra does not maintain very many close relationships as a general rule. She has seen enough war that she is somewhat leery of this, but has not yet gotten to the stage where she has fully accepted this as the status quo. Idiosyncrasies Fastidious about maintaining her equipment, and considered something of a neat freak in general. Devotes an almost absurd amount of time to caring for her prized snowy gryphon. She loves nothing more than being up in the air-- this has prompted others to jokingly refer to her as an honorary Wildhammer. Is trying, with varying degrees of success or failure, to learn the languages of the Sporeloks, Arakkoa and the Ethereals and whatever other languages pique her interest. (So far her knowledge consists almost exclusively of swear words and 'Where can I get my armor fixed?') She does, however, know enough of the Draenei language to at least get by. As cool and professional an exterior as she might put up, Raelindra is still but a child when it comes to exploring Azeroth. She explores everything with unabated glee, fascinated by things that most Azerothians find completely mundane. Public Knowledge and Rumors Has only recently set foot on Azeroth, and is thus largely unknown except to those who have been through the Dark Portal since it reopened and those who have been involved with the Shattered Sun Offensive. Has been very active with the Shattered Sun Offensive since its inception; however, it seems to be taking her some time to get on civilly with the Blood Elves within the Offensive. In spite of this she has quickly risen to prominence among them, earning their highest accolades. Expeditionary Force members recall Reynar and Mireska being reliable, if odd folks. Mireska in particular possessed a great deal of knowledge about ley lines for someone who was obviously no mage, and was known to study the mystical arts practiced by some of the Wildhammer Dwarves. Is known to have... flexible gender preferences.